Library·SOP·SEO
Combine pages that serve the same reader task, preserve useful material, and make every retired address reach the checked preferred page.
Last reviewed: · Editorial review
Clarity, structure and references reviewed in this version. This is not a test in a live account.
Combine pages that serve the same reader task, preserve useful material, and make every retired address reach the checked preferred page.
This SOP covers:
This does not cover:
Consolidation is a permanent replacement for pages that answer the same task. Keep different reader tasks separate.
Make your own copy of the Content consolidation worksheet. Rename it Content consolidation – [group name]. Read Start here and Fictional example; use the blank Pages, Content map, Links, and Checks tabs for your work. Add rows whenever the full group needs them.
Account for every selected page and confirm which ones answer the same reader task.
In Start here, write the group name, common reader task, owner/editor, and source/date of the complete incoming-link inventory. Record any supplied search or link evidence and its limits. In Pages, add every selected public URL and editor URL. Missing evidence stays missing; it does not mean a page has no value.
Open and read each public page. In Pages > Reader task, describe what its visitor is trying to do. Compare the actual answers, not just titles or shared words. Two tomato-growing instructions may serve one task; a guide comparing pots to buy serves a different task. Write the distinction in Reason / evidence and mark a different task Keep separately.
If a page’s purpose or replacement is unclear, mark Investigate and add the question/owner. If pages must both stay public, the move is temporary, or there is no suitable replacement, follow the linked SOP to choose the appropriate keep, canonical, noindex, redirect or removal approach. Record its decision in Pages and keep that URL out of this retirement group.
Choose one existing page that can answer the whole common task and remain the permanent destination.
Prefer a page whose purpose and established URL fit the task, whose useful content can be maintained, and whose facts can be checked. Consider supplied incoming-link and search evidence alongside that fit; the largest traffic total alone does not decide. Mark it Preferred in Pages and write the URL/reason in Start here. Keep its current address.
For each other same-task page, explain how the completed preferred page will replace its useful answer. Mark Retire only when the owner agrees to that permanent replacement. Write the owner/date in Start here. If an old page still serves a separate need, keep it separate; do not send it to a generic home page or an unrelated destination.
Save each original before editing. Decide where useful text, media and citations will go so consolidation does not discard a needed answer.
Save recoverable records for the preferred page and every page marked Retire.
Create a folder named Consolidation originals – [group name] and record its location in Start here. Give each page a subfolder. Open each public page, use the browser’s Print command, and save a dated before PDF there. Check the readable copy includes its useful text; save missing media/citation links in that page’s original record.
Open each affected WordPress item. In the top-right Options (⋮) menu, choose Copy all blocks and save the copied markup in its subfolder as Original blocks – [date].txt. Save an Original settings document there with the page title, slug, publication status/date, and media/featured-image URLs. A slug is the address portion after the domain. Record the file locations in Pages > Original files / settings.
For each affected page, open its current search fields without editing. The SEO title suggests a search-result heading; the meta description suggests its short summary. They are separate from the visible page title, and Google may show different text.
In the linked on-page guide, go to Update the page's search title and description. Use its active-plugin check and matching plugin guide. Follow only the field-opening steps under Enter the per-page values; stop before typing or saving.
Copy each page’s current title and description field text into its Original settings document. Keep displayed placeholders such as %title%, which generates page-title text, and label them Template/default. Label an empty field Blank — no custom value. Copy any shown generated preview separately as Generated preview/fallback, not a manually entered value.
Read each page’s canonical and indexing controls. A canonical URL suggests the main address for similar content. An indexing setting says whether search engines may list the page; noindex asks them to leave it out of search.
In the linked control guide’s Send the choice to the right procedure section, open this active plugin’s canonical and noindex guides. Follow only each guide’s first field-opening step in milestone 2. Leave every value and checkbox unchanged; stop before entry or saving.
In each Original settings document, copy the exact Canonical URL field text. Label an empty custom field Blank — plugin default, recording any shown placeholder separately. A blank custom field can still produce a public canonical tag.
Record the visible indexing-choice label and its selected/clear or Yes/No state. If the page uses a site default, record Site default — no separate page choice. Keep any displayed generated output separate from the saved field choices.
In Settings > Post or Settings > Page, open Revisions if available and add the latest pre-change revision/date to Original settings. Keep the original media attachments in WordPress; a moved photo may still use that file. Revisions may omit plugin settings or media, so retain the separate files even when a revision is available.
Open Tools > Redirection > Export. Export the current redirects as JSON, covering any existing rules for this group, and save the file in the originals folder. In Start here, record the backup file/date and rollback owner/contact. JSON preserves more rule settings than CSV; use it for recovery of affected configuration, without overwriting unrelated rules.
Build the combined page’s plan in Content map.
Read the complete preferred and retiring pages. Add a row for each useful section, media item or citation: Source URL, Original item, Action, and Destination section. Choose Keep for useful preferred-page material, Merge for useful additions, and Omit for redundant or unsuitable material. Explain omissions and factual sources in Source / reason. Do not paste several whole pages together.
Check changed facts with the owner or reliable current source. If two pages conflict or a needed claim is unsupported, choose Needs answer and name the question/owner in Owner / open item. Resolve an important missing answer before saving the combined page or retiring its originals. Mark each fully reviewed page Reviewed in Pages > Content review.
Fictional example: keep the preferred tomato guide’s planting sequence, merge drainage instructions from one old guide, and retain a watering photo and citation from another. Resolve conflicting watering advice before saving. The pots comparison stays separate because it answers a buying question. Use Fictional example to see how these choices fit the worksheet fields.
The destination must be useful and working before an old address starts sending visitors there.
Follow the linked SOP’s existing-page route for the URL marked Preferred. Use Content map as the change brief: keep needed original material, add the checked useful answers, and maintain citations/media. Complete its content, title, image, internal-link, preview, save and public-page checks. Keep the preferred URL unchanged and return with the saved public page.
Check the saved destination against the preservation plan before changing old URLs.
Before checking the preferred page’s response, open the linked redirect guide’s Prove the response reaches the right page section. Use only its Network-panel preparation and response-reading instructions: open Network, prepare its log/cache controls, and learn to select the main page request and read Status and Headers > General. Use your preferred URL for this check; leave redirect-rule setup for the later retirement steps.
Open the full preferred URL while logged out. In the browser’s developer-tools Network panel, reload it and check the main page returns 200 directly; 200 means it loaded successfully. Read it on desktop and phone width. Check every Keep/Merge item, image, citation and next-step link. Set Saved result to Saved and checked only for items you verified; explain unused items.
Open the saved preferred URL in Chrome. Right-click a blank area and choose View Page Source; alternatively use Ctrl+U on Windows/Linux or Command+Option+U on Mac. Use Find (Ctrl+F or Command+F) for rel="canonical" and read that entry’s URL in href.
In Checks > Page signals, record it under Live canonical with Checked on. This is today’s site-declared address, separate from Google’s stored choice. It must match the preferred URL. Have the owner resolve missing, multiple or conflicting canonical entries before retirement.
Follow the linked SOP to inspect the preferred URL. In Checks > Page signals > Indexed inspection/date, record Google’s stored verdict, last crawl/reason, User-declared canonical and Google-selected canonical, with their dates. These stored canonical fields are separate from the public tag you just checked.
Record the Test live URL availability/indexing findings. Set Indexing allowed to Allowed only for a shown Yes, Blocked for No, or Needs answer when unavailable. Resolve a current fetch/indexing blocker before retirement; keep an unavailable required live check unfinished.
Each old URL needs its own checked path. Keep the original WordPress content recoverably after the redirect is working.
Create one exact permanent redirect for each page marked Retire.
In Checks > Redirect paths, add each retiring Old URL and the exact Preferred target. Add rows for relevant trailing-slash and query-string versions. A query string is the part after ?; some parameters change content, while others only track visits. Record the intended handling in Variant handling, so the redirect preserves or removes parameters deliberately.
Follow the linked SOP for each retiring URL, using its exact manual 301 method and the worksheet’s preferred target. A 301 signals a permanent move. Check existing-rule conflicts, the saved rule and relevant variants as that SOP directs. Return each rule ID/title, first response, hop count, final URL/status and checked date to Redirect paths. Repeat for every retiring URL; avoid a broad rule that catches unrelated pages.
Check each recorded path reaches the intended preferred page in one 301 hop, followed by 200. If it loops, chains, reaches the wrong page or gives an error, use the linked redirect method’s correction/disable steps and retest. Keep failed or unrun results visible. Leave that original page published until its required path is corrected.
Archive each redirected original as a retained WordPress draft, then retest its public path.
Open the old item through its saved Editor URL. In Settings > Post or Settings > Page, open Status and choose Draft; confirm and save when prompted. Keep its original slug and content. In Pages > Archive record, write the retained draft/editor URL and saved date. Reopen that editor link and confirm the original remains available as a draft.
Repeat the linked SOP’s public redirect test for every old URL and planned variant after changing its status. Refresh the actual status, hop, final URL and date cells in Redirect paths. The old address must still reach the preferred 200 page. If archiving breaks a required path, restore that item to Published, correct the exact rule, and retest before archiving it again.
Update owned links to the final page and make the current site’s signals agree. Keep Google’s earlier inspection snapshot separate from live results.
Work through the full inventory of incoming links to the retired URLs.
In Links, copy each source page/editor location, exact Old target, intended Preferred target, placement and owner from the inventory. Include owned navigation, template and content links. If the redirect child already fixed a link, record and check it here. Record an outside-site link as Owner action with the responsible person and a specific next action.
For owned WordPress content links still marked To change, follow the linked SOP to edit the mapped link to the preferred target, save it and check the public result. Keep helpful link text that describes the destination. Have the owner update any mapped navigation or template location through its existing editor. Set Updated and checked and the date only after the public link reaches the preferred page directly.
Compare Links with the inventory source recorded in Start here. Account for every relevant row and revisit each changed public placement. An unresolved owned link remains unfinished, even if its redirect works. For an external link you cannot edit, retain the working redirect and give the owner a specific next action; track any later request with its owner.
Check the existing sitemap and page signals after the redirects, archiving and link changes.
In Start here, record the active SEO plugin and existing sitemap URL. If the sitemap location or plugin method is unknown, use the linked SOP to select the site’s existing method and find its sitemap. Return with the exact URL; an existing valid setup does not need a second plugin or a new submission just for this consolidation.
Open that sitemap and its relevant post/page child sitemap if it is an index. Search for the preferred URL and each retired URL. The preferred published URL should be present; retired URLs should be absent. In Checks > Page signals, record Sitemap result and the date for each URL. If the current output disagrees, have the site owner resolve the publication/plugin/cache issue and recheck.
Repeat the public-source check from step 3.2c for the preferred URL after retirement. Record its actual Live canonical and Checked on date. For each retired URL, use its checked Redirect paths response: record Not applicable — 301 response under Live canonical and Redirect response under Indexing allowed.
A redirecting old address has no ordinary page canonical to read; do not copy the destination’s tag into the old row. Resolve an incorrect preferred tag or retired path before finishing.
Repeat the linked SOP for the preferred URL and every retired URL. In Page signals > Indexed inspection/date, keep the dated stored verdict, last crawl/reason and User-declared/Google-selected canonical values. Record current Test live URL availability/indexing findings separately from those stored observations and the public-source results.
Keep missing findings visible. For an old URL, retain its actually checked Redirect response label rather than inventing a page-level indexing value. Resolve conflicting current site signals; assign older or missing indexed observations to the later review.
Finish when today’s page, paths and records work. Future Google processing remains a separate, assigned check.
Reconcile the whole group and leave a usable recovery and follow-up record.
Review every Pages row. The preferred page is published at the unchanged URL; each Retire row has a retained original, preserved useful material and checked final redirect; Keep separately pages remain unaffected. Review Content map, Links and both Checks tables for missing or failed required work. In Start here, record the saved implementation date/time and editor. Do not label unfinished required work complete.
In Start here, name the rollback owner and failure that would require recovery, such as an unsuitable destination or a required path that cannot be corrected promptly. Check that Pages opens every retained original, Checks identifies this group’s exact rules, and Links preserves old targets/source locations. Confirm the owner can use the saved blocks/settings and available revisions to restore affected pages.
If recovery is needed, follow Start here > If rollback is needed: restore and republish retained originals at their original URLs, then disable only the affected new rules. Restore affected preferred content and incoming links from the saved records. Retest the restored public paths, content, media, sitemap and live signals. Record who acted, when, what was restored and any remaining failure in Rollback record / actions / checks.
In Start here, set Later indexing review owner / date and Later check inputs / expected evidence. Include every retired URL, the preferred URL, sitemap URL and dated inspection notes, then create the task in your team’s calendar or task list. The later reviewer repeats the indexing/canonical checks and records what Google shows then. Do not wait for that future observation or promise rankings to finish today’s implementation.
